Alan Arthur Oakes (born 7 September 1942) is an English former
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...
who holds
Manchester City's
all-time record for appearances. A
midfielder
A midfielder is an outfield position in association football.
Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
, in total he played 776 the
Football League matches – the tenth most in history. He is a cousin of former teammate
Glyn Pardoe
Glyn Pardoe (1 June 1946 – 26 May 2020) was an English footballer who played for Manchester City between 1962 and 1974. He made his first-team debut against Birmingham City in April 1962. At nearly 16 years of age he became Manchester City's y ...
, an uncle of defender
Chris Blackburn, and the father of former goalkeeper
Michael Oakes
Michael Christian Oakes (born 30 October 1973) is an English football coach and former professional footballer.
As a player he was a goalkeeper from 1991 until 2008. He notably played in the Premier League for Aston Villa and in the Football ...
.
He joined Manchester City as an amateur in 1958, turning professional and making his debut a year later. He picked up numerous honours at the club, including a
European Cup Winners' Cup
The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised by UEFA. The tournam ...
winners medal in
1970
Events
January
* January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC.
* January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (''Extreme''). Between 10,000 and ...
, a
First Division and
Second Division
In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...
championship medal in 1967–68 and 1965–66 respectively, an
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
winners medal in
1969
This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon.
Events January
* January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco.
* January 5
**Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...
, two
League Cup
In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...
winners medals in
1970
Events
January
* January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC.
* January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (''Extreme''). Between 10,000 and ...
and
1976
Events January
* January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force.
* January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea.
* January 11 – The 1976 ...
, and
FA Charity Shield winners medals in
1968
The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide.
Events January–February
* January 5 – " Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia.
* Janu ...
and
1972
Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using mean solar tim ...
. He was appointed
player-manager
A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the s ...
at
Chester in 1976, and led the club to victory in the
Debenhams Cup in 1977. He left the club in March 1982, and then played one FA cup game for
Northwich Victoria and one league game for
Port Vale. He left the game after coaching spells at Port Vale and then Chester.
Midfielder at Manchester City
Oakes signed for
Manchester City on amateur terms in 1958 at the age of fifteen, signing as a professional a year later; he cleaned the boots of legendary goalkeeper
Bert Trautmann
Bernhard Carl "Bert" Trautmann EK OBE BVO (22 October 1923 – 19 July 2013) was a German professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper for Manchester City from 1949 to 1964.
In August 1933, (aged 9), he joined the Jungvolk, the junior ...
.
[Stats](_blank)
''mcivta.com'' His first-team debut came under the stewardship of
Les McDowall on 14 November 1959, in a 1–1 draw with
Chelsea
Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to:
Places Australia
* Chelsea, Victoria
Canada
* Chelsea, Nova Scotia
* Chelsea, Quebec
United Kingdom
* Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames
** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...
.
He went on to play 18
First Division matches in
1959–60.
During the early 1960s Oakes proved to be one of the few consistent performers in a struggling City side. He played 22 games in
1960–61 and 25 games in
1961–62 (scoring his first senior goal), as City were a comfortable mid-table side.
However, despite Oakes reaching the 40 game mark,
they plummeted to second-from-bottom of the division in
1962–63, finishing two points short of 33-point safety benchmark set by 20th place
Birmingham City
Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Sin ...
. New manager
George Poyser
George Henry Poyser (6 February 1910 – 30 January 1995) was an English football player and manager.
A defender, he enjoyed a lengthy playing career, the tail end of which was interrupted by World War II. He played for Wolverhampton Wandere ...
failed to bring promotion in
1963–64 and
1964–65, though by now Oakes was a consistent first team performer, making 41 league appearances in each campaign.
He made 51 appearances in
1965–66, as new manager
Joe Mercer
Joseph Mercer, OBE (9 August 1914 – 9 August 1990) was an English football player and manager. Mercer, who played as a defender for Everton and Arsenal in his footballing career, also went on to manage Aston Villa, Manchester City and Engl ...
(and assistant
Malcolm Allison) led City to the
Second Division
In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...
title. He played alongside other club legends such as
Colin Bell,
Mike Summerbee
Michael George Summerbee (born 15 December 1942) is an English former footballer, who played in the successful Manchester City side of the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Club career
Summerbee was born in Preston, Lancashire, and raised in Ch ...
, and
Neil Young
Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian-American singer and songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, joining Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Richie Fur ...
. Oakes then played 47 games in
1966–67,
as City retained their top-flight status with a 15th-place finish. He went on to play in all but one of the matches in City's title winning season in
1967–68,
with only defender
Tony Book
Anthony Keith Book (born 4 September 1934) is an English retired footballer and manager. Book spent a large part of his career in Non-League football with his home town club Bath City, before entering league football with Plymouth Argyle. At the ...
managing play to all 50 games. They also went on to win the
1968 FA Charity Shield
The 1968 FA Charity Shield was a football match played on 3 August 1968 between Football League champions Manchester City and FA Cup winners West Bromwich Albion. It was the 46th Charity Shield match and was played at City's home ground, Maine ...
, thrashing West Bromwich Albion 6–1. He played 49 games in
1968–69,
including the
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
final
Final, Finals or The Final may refer to:
* Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event
** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of con ...
, helping the "Sky Blues" to their fourth FA Cup title with a 1–0 win over
Leicester City
Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands.
The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...
. Though he never won a full international cap, he represented the
Football League against the
Scottish League
The Scottish Football League (SFL) was a league featuring professional and semi-professional football clubs mostly from Scotland.One club, Berwick Rangers, is based in the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, which is located approximately 4 km sout ...
in 1969.
They could only manage a tenth-place finish in
1969–70, but found success in the cup competitions; Oakes featured 49 times in English domestic competitions.
He played in the
League Cup
In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...
final
Final, Finals or The Final may refer to:
* Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event
** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of con ...
at
Wembley
Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in north-west Londo ...
, which ended in a 2–1 victory over
West Bromwich Albion
West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pl ...
. He also played in the
final
Final, Finals or The Final may refer to:
* Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event
** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of con ...
of the
European Cup Winners' Cup
The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised by UEFA. The tournam ...
, which ended in 2–1 victory over
Górnik Zabrze
Górnik Zabrze Spółka Akcyjna, commonly referred to as Górnik Zabrze S.A. or simply Górnik Zabrze (), is a Polish football club from Zabrze. Górnik is one of the most successful Polish football clubs in history, winning the second-most Po ...
at the
Ernst-Happel-Stadion in Vienna.
He played 34 games in
1970–71 as City dropped to 11th, before making 34 appearances in
1971–72, helping the club to a fourth-place finish, a single point behind champions
Derby County
Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group.
Founded in 188 ...
.
As other teams pulled out, Manchester City agreed to take part in the
1972 FA Charity Shield
The 1972 FA Charity Shield was contested between Manchester City and Aston Villa.
Normally, the Charity Shield would have been contested by the First Division champions and FA Cup holders, who were Derby County and Leeds United respectively, but ...
, and they took the shield back to
Maine Road
Maine Road was a football stadium in Moss Side, Manchester, England, that was home to Manchester City F.C. from 1923 to 2003. It hosted FA Cup semi-finals, the Charity Shield, a League Cup final and England matches. Maine Road's highest a ...
with a 1–0 win over
Aston Villa at
Villa Park
Villa Park is a football stadium in Aston, Birmingham, England, with a seating capacity of 42,682. It has been the home of Premier League side Aston Villa since 1897. The ground is less than a mile from both Witton and Aston railway station ...
. However, he was restricted to just 15 appearances in
1972–73,
as City ended the campaign in 11th place under the management of
Johnny Hart
John Lewis Hart (February 18, 1931 – April 7, 2007) was an American cartoonist noted as the creator of the comic strips '' B.C.'' and ''The Wizard of Id''. Brant Parker co-produced and illustrated ''The Wizard of Id''. Hart was recogni ...
. Oakes returned to post 33 appearances in
1973–74,
the season in which
Denis Law famously sent
Manchester United out of the top-flight. New boss
Tony Book
Anthony Keith Book (born 4 September 1934) is an English retired footballer and manager. Book spent a large part of his career in Non-League football with his home town club Bath City, before entering league football with Plymouth Argyle. At the ...
failed to bring back the glory years for Manchester City though, despite Oakes making 43 appearances in
1974–75.
Playing 50 games in
1975–76,
his final honour with the club was the League Cup medal he picked up in
1976
Events January
* January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force.
* January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea.
* January 11 – The 1976 ...
, with a 2–1 victory over
Newcastle United.
His last appearance for Manchester City came on 4 May 1976, coming on as
substitute for
Mike Doyle Michael, Mick or Mike Doyle may refer to:
Politics
* Michael Doyle (Irish politician), Irish Farmers' Party politician from Wexford, TD from 1922 to 1927
*Michael Doyle, alleged member of the Molly Maguires
*Mike Doyle (American politician) (born ...
against
rivals
A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant ...
Manchester United at
Old Trafford.
In his time at Maine Road, Oakes had become part of more trophy winning sides than any other
Manchester City player in history. He was voted the club's Player of the Year in 1975.
Amongst footballing figures of his era Oakes was renowned for his professionalism; the great
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...
manager
Bill Shankly described him as "exactly the kind of player youngsters should use as a model". He made 680 league and cup appearances for Manchester City, scoring 33 goals. The only City player to come close to his record was
Joe Corrigan
Joseph Thomas Corrigan (born 18 November 1948) is an English former professional association football, footballer who played as a goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper in the Football League for Manchester City F.C., Manchester City, Br ...
, a goalkeeper who played alongside Oakes for nine years. Oakes was inducted into the Manchester City Hall of Fame in 2005.
Player-manager at Chester
Oakes moved to
Third Division side
Chester in the summer of 1976, who had to pay Manchester City a £15,000 fee for his services.
Although he initially signed just as a player, he was soon in charge of team affairs at
Sealand Road
Sealand Road was the home stadium of Chester City Football Club (until 1983 known as Chester Football Club) from 1906 until 1990. Although officially known simply as The Stadium, it was more commonly referred to as Sealand Road. It was much loved ...
after manager
Ken Roberts moved upstairs. Oakes was to be
player-manager
A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the s ...
throughout the remainder of his six years with the club, where he continued to break playing appearance records.
In
his first season at the club, Oakes led Chester to the last-16 of the
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
for the first time since
1891
Events
January–March
* January 1
** Paying of old age pensions begins in Germany.
** A strike of 500 Hungarian steel workers occurs; 3,000 men are out of work as a consequence.
** Germany takes formal possession of its new Af ...
. He would repeat the feat three years later and lead the club to the
Debenhams Cup title in 1977. In
1977–78, he came within a whisker of taking the "Seals" into the top two divisions for the first time, as they finished just two points and places outside the three promotion places. Oakes was also the man to give the legendary
Ian Rush
Ian James Rush (born 20 October 1961) is a Welsh former professional footballer who played as a forward. At club level Rush played for Liverpool from 1980–1987 and 1988–1996. He is the club's all-time leading goalscorer, having scored a t ...
his big break in the professional game, handing him his Chester debut in April 1979. Oakes was widely regarded as having done a good job at Chester, but the
1981–82 season saw the "Blues" relegated. Oakes left the club in March 1982 and never managed in the Football League again.
Coaching career
Oakes made an
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
appearance for
Northwich Victoria against
Scunthorpe United in December 1982. He then became part of the coaching staff with
Port Vale, serving as reserve team manager from January 1983.
While at
Vale Park
Vale Park is a football stadium in Stoke-on-Trent, England. It has been the home ground of Port Vale F.C. since 1950.
The ground has seen its capacity go up and down, its peak being 42,000 in 1954 against Blackpool, although a club record 49, ...
, Oakes was forced to make one final Football League appearance during an injury crisis – his 776th match in the league.
At 41 years and 60 days old Oakes was unable to prevent the injury ravaged team from losing to
Plymouth Argyle 1–0, the club's sixth straight loss.
Sacked in order to save money in December 1983, he was brought back to the club as a coach in August 1984.
After being demoted to the position of youth coach in December 1987 he resigned in protest.
In 1992, Oakes return to Chester on the coaching staff and in
1993–94 he assisted
Graham Barrow
Graham Barrow (born 13 June 1954) is an English former footballer who has since become a professional manager in the English game. He is currently working for Exeter City as a Tactical Insights Coach for former Wigan Athletic manager Gary Cald ...
and
Joe Hinnigan as Chester were promoted to the
Second Division
In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...
.
Family
Alan Oakes is the best known member of a prominent football family. His cousin
Glyn Pardoe
Glyn Pardoe (1 June 1946 – 26 May 2020) was an English footballer who played for Manchester City between 1962 and 1974. He made his first-team debut against Birmingham City in April 1962. At nearly 16 years of age he became Manchester City's y ...
was also a member of the Manchester City side in the 1960s and 70s, and his son
Michael is a professional footballer who has played for
Aston Villa,
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...
and
Cardiff City as a
goalkeeper
In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...
. His nephew,
Chris Blackburn, played for
Chester,
Morecambe, and
Wrexham
Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the count ...
.
Career statistics
Source:
Playing statistics
* Includes
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
,
League Cup
In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...
,
European Cup,
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised by UEFA. The tourn ...
,
UEFA Cup
A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay ...
,
Charity Shield,
Texaco Cup
The Texaco Cup, officially known as the International League Board Competition, was an association football competition started in 1970, involving sides from England, Scotland, and Ireland that had not qualified for European competitions.
It wa ...
,
Anglo-Italian Cup and
Anglo-Scottish Cup
The Anglo-Scottish Cup was a tournament arranged for teams in the English and Scottish football leagues during the summer for several years during the 1970s. It was created in 1975 as a new incarnation of the Texaco Cup, with a similar format t ...
.
Managerial statistics
Honours
as a player
Individual
*
Manchester City F.C.
Manchester City Football Club are an English football club based in Manchester that competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. Founded in 1880 as St. Mark's (West Gorton), they became Ardwick Association Football ...
Player of the Year:
1975
It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe.
Events
January
* January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...
Manchester City
*
European Cup Winners' Cup
The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised by UEFA. The tournam ...
:
1970
Events
January
* January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC.
* January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (''Extreme''). Between 10,000 and ...
*
Football League First Division:
1967–68
*
Football League Second Division
The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the English football league system between 1892 and 1992. Following the foundation of the FA Premier League, the Football League divisions were renumbered and the third t ...
:
1965–66
*
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
:
1969
This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon.
Events January
* January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco.
* January 5
**Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...
*
League Cup
In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...
:
1970
Events
January
* January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC.
* January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (''Extreme''). Between 10,000 and ...
,
1976
Events January
* January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force.
* January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea.
* January 11 – The 1976 ...
*
FA Charity Shield:
1968
The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide.
Events January–February
* January 5 – " Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia.
* Janu ...
,
1972
Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using mean solar tim ...
as a player-manager
Chester
*
Debenhams Cup: 1977
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oakes, Alan
1942 births
Living people
People from Winsford
Sportspeople from Cheshire
English footballers
Association football midfielders
Manchester City F.C. players
Chester City F.C. players
Port Vale F.C. players
Northwich Victoria F.C. players
English Football League players
Association football player-managers
English football managers
Chester City F.C. managers
English Football League managers
Association football coaches
Port Vale F.C. non-playing staff
English Football League representative players
FA Cup Final players